A Boston public radio station is redesigning its site to make audio “a first-class citizen online”

February 8, 2016

News analysis program On Point is one of Boston public radio station WBUR’s most popular and prominent shows, yet its website looks more than a little outdated and isn’t mobile-friendly. It’s hard to figure out where content from the show lives when visiting the main wbur.org website.

So the website is getting an overhaul. “We’re planning to make audio more of a first-class citizen online,” WBUR’s executive editor for digital Tiffany Campbell told me, “while also making sure the design can honor the stuff we do in visuals and text.”

With the website overhaul, WBUR hopes to address challenges around the station’s online presence and its underlying structure. For listeners, there’s the problem of seamless listening and of discovery — I missed my top local headlines this morning and want to catch up. Or, I see an audio player for a long segment but don’t know if it’ll be interesting — how do I listen without disrupting my browsing experience entirely?